NavoyNostos

Medan vs Surabaya

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Surabaya edges it, 50 to 47, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Medan is stronger on nothing outright; Surabaya on air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 6.7 of 47 points (scores 60/100)Safety: 7.4 of 47 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 47 points (scores 56/100)Internet: 5.8 of 47 points (scores 52/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 47 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 4.7 of 47 points (scores 42/100)Climate: 2.8 of 47 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 2.5 of 47 points (scores 22/100)Quality of life: 5.0 of 47 points (scores 45/100)47
Medan
out of 100

North Sumatra's big, hectic city and the road to Lake Toba

Full Medan profile →Where to stay in Medan →
Cost of living: 7.0 of 50 points (scores 63/100)Safety: 7.4 of 50 points (scores 67/100)Healthcare: 6.2 of 50 points (scores 56/100)Internet: 5.7 of 50 points (scores 52/100)Visa ease: 6.0 of 50 points (scores 54/100)Getting there & around: 5.2 of 50 points (scores 47/100)Climate: 2.8 of 50 points (scores 25/100)Air quality: 4.1 of 50 points (scores 37/100)Quality of life: 5.0 of 50 points (scores 45/100)50
Surabaya
out of 100

Indonesia's second city, business-first and cheap

Full Surabaya profile →Where to stay in Surabaya →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricMedanSurabaya
Cost of living6063 ✓
Safety6767
Healthcare5656
Internet52 ✓52
Visa ease5454
Getting there & around4247 ✓
Climate2525
Air quality2237 ✓
Quality of life4545

Cost

MetricMedanSurabaya
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,000$922 ✓
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricMedanSurabaya
Homicides per 100k0.410.41
Political stability (0–100)52.752.7
UHC service coverage (0–100)6767
Life expectancy68.3 yrs68.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricMedanSurabaya
Download14.4 Mbps14.5 Mbps ✓
Upload6.5 Mbps ✓5.7 Mbps

Visa

MetricMedanSurabaya
Nomad visaRemote worker visa (E33G)Remote worker visa (E33G)
Minimum income for the visa$5,000/mo$5,000/mo
Entry, US passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricMedanSurabaya
Non-stop airport destinations2641 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)22
Transit (1–5, editorial)22

Climate and air

MetricMedanSurabaya
Comfortable months per year33
Annual mean PM2.539.9 µg/m³33.3 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Medan or Surabaya?
Surabaya is cheaper: about $922 per month versus $1,000 for one person.
Is Medan or Surabaya safer?
Medan scores higher on safety (67 vs 67), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Medan or Surabaya?
Surabaya: a measured median of 14.5 Mbps versus 14.4 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.